I have been looking into these and really like the idea of a touchless clean. In theory it sounds great but does it actually work? How much work has to go into creating a highly polished surface before snow foam works? Having just brought a brand new car I really want to keep it swirl free and maintain the high shine. However as it is black and it instantly appears dirty and the reality is that I don't have enough time to maintain the finish that I want. Can I get away with snowfoam washes and just a wax every couple of months? I have seen that there is group buy deal on the detailing world forum, so I guess it would not be too much to lose if it didn't work but I just wanted to get general opinions before parting with my hard-earned.

i still have to wash mine after snow foaming it, ie with a mitten. The snowfoam just removes the big debris and road grime so theres less to wash off.

To help avoid the dreaded swirls using snow foam with a proper lance on a jet wash first then letting it soak for about 5minutes before jet washing it off will get rid of a lot of the dirt before you even touch the car. Using a ph neutral shampoo will prevent stripping your polish off, but you'll need to use the 2 bucket system, ideally with grit guards and either a micro fibre or lambs wool mit to clean the car starting at the top. Thete's loads of advice in the styling and care section but it really is worth the investment IMO.Hope this helps

is it more effective than just a pressure washer? I am just wondering if it is an expense that I could avoid or whether it could save me time and protect the paintwork?

it definitely protects the paintwork from the method above. my car is coming up to 2.5 years old now and is still swirl free

Rinse car off with pressure washer, apply snow foam, leave 5 minutes so it can do its job, rinse of again with pressure washer, lightly snow foam again and then use wash mit and 2 bucket method to clean car, rinse off and spray with something like meguires last touch, dry off with micro fibre drying towels.....leaves the car clean and shiney and no or minimum marks or scratches

Ok guys thanks- any recommendations for snow foam? Is the autobrite stuff any good? They offer a good priced package deal with a lance. Cheers

I got the same deal, £40 for the lance and a 500ml bottle of Magifoam, great stuff! They also do a group buy on Magifoam itself, £28 for 5 litres and a pump dispenser, will last ages!

Ok thanks - decision made im off to buy the autobrite lance! Just wondering what the neighbors are going to say when the cars covered in snow?!

They will look at you like your a mad man, especially when they see the big beaming smile on your face as you do it. It never gets boring either. Have a play around to get the right mix by adjusting the top dial left for more water and right for more soap. The nozzle on the front only needs small adjustment left and right for squirt to wide fan.

An inch or just under of snow foam in the bottom of the bottle and filled to just over half way in the one litre bottle should be more than enough to foam your car twice.

Ok thanks for the advice

Snow Foam does nothing more than a normal power wash would do, i now use a citrus pre wash and ignore the foam its pointless.

Get your self some Auto Finesse Citrus Power.

personally i think snow foam is a bit of a gimmick, ive tried a few different brands now and for me its the power and flow rate of your pressure washer that shifts the grime not the soaking of the foam. And i think it affects your lsp as well, one of my neighbours just bought a lance and he has come to the same conclusion as me.

ive tried less snow foam in the bottle to stop it affecting the lsp but this just produces a thin not very clingy foam.

one thing i will say is that it is good fun and certainly turns a few heads.

Just my opinion for what its worth!

Snow Foam does nothing more than a normal power wash would do, i now use a citrus pre wash and ignore the foam its pointless.

Get your self some Auto Finesse Citrus Power.

Hmmm. must track down the Briskodian who recommended the snow foam and lance to me then and ask him for a contribution towards the cost. Some bloke north of the boarder from memory. Wonder who it was.....

Posted 03 January 2013 - 18:14

Great machine had mine over a year, the hose is awful so i got this

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item27b5b31384

Then i got this http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a18734b9a

and the foam gun you want is this

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a0b35bc85

I use mine for every wash. Granted it's down to the product you use with it that really brings out the best, but for loosening the dirt before a wash I find it great (I use Autobrite Magifoam). But it's down to personal preference at the end of the day like wax or sealant, sponge or wash mitt, one bucket or two, there's no right or wrong, just whats right for you.

Like you, I was hoping that snow foam and pressure rinse would provide a quick wash in between proper washes.

At least one that would leave the car looking a little less like a mud wrestler!

Sadly, it's not to be (at least not with the snow foam I had). Had the post foam & soak pressure wash removed some of the dirt and left it looking a little cleaner, I'd have been a lot happier.

What it did do was loosen the dirt making it easier to remove with a suitable mitt (or other) which results in less pressure needed to get the dirt off and therefore less scratching to the paint work.

I was disappointed with how little dirt was shifted with the pressure washer after the snow foam soak, but I still use it prior to washing the car as it's fun and makes life a little easier afterwards.

My experience is similar to others above. I have the AB lance and have used it with their own Magifoam and with Valet Pro Ph Neutral. Both foams seem about as effective, but neither gets all the dirt off. Snow foam does seem to get a little more off than just pressure washing, unless I take more time with the P, in which case I end up with lots of white, rather than grey, foam on the drive. If it's Magifoam it's still there two days later! I've also tried a citrus pre-wash which seems as good, but want to try it with a pressure sprayer rather than the lance. I think I'll end up alternating between the techniques.

Snow foaming is great fun though - I sometimes have to fight off the temptation to cover everything in sight

I wash my car regularly and have a similar routine as detailed above. I work on construction sites so my car is covered in mud within a few days so the first stage of pressure washing is to remove the worst. This is ideal for cleaning the larger stuff of the bumpers, wheels and particularly the wheel arches. As for the pressure washer actually cleaning the car, it clearly takes a layer of dirt off, but nothing close to being clean.

I then cover the car in a citrus pre wash which can be seen within a few seconds to start lifting more dirt. I apply this with a bottled hand spray. After a few minutes this is then jet washed off and the car is visibly better at this stage.

The next stage is the snow foam, which I use to apply with a cheap non adjustable nozzle, but that was ineffective at creating a good foam. I recently bought a larger capacity adjustable nozzle / bottle and the foam layer is now a perfect thick mat that doesn't slip off the car within a few seconds. This is also the stage where the neighbours wonder what the hell I'm doing to the car, and usually start the typical comments about doing theirs next and 'you do know its going to rain later' !!

One thing I do find, which may be unique to be but I find pressure washing and foaming highly satisfying. I guess its a man thing but once holding the lance the appeal to jet anything and everything is hard to resist. I usually find myself pressure washing the footpath or house facia boards while waiting for the snow foam to work Resisting temptation to snow foam the local cats that keep sh*tting in my garden is even harder

Its now the time to do the traditional 2 bucket method clean with a lambs wool mit, which seems mad after all the previous stages but the level of dirt is vastly reduced by now and the risk of swirls and scratching is minimised. Its also nice that at the stage of actually making physical contact with the paint that the level of dirt is minimal. Once rinsed and dryed the car now looks great for a weekly clean. The car is detailed every 6 months by myself, so the wax does its job and the finish with just drying is fine considering it'll be filthy by midweek.

The wife has no understanding of the different processes and just thinks I've washed my car 6 times over and then moans about the water use ( we have water meters in this area ).

Overall I wouldn't say snow foam is the all in one solution that people make out it to be, but used as part of a washing routine I find its a benificial stage for removing the dirt and the most satisfying in 'pretending to spray your car white'

Hear hear! I've only just started snow foaming my car in the past few months and I can tell you it really is a beneficial stage, removing the majority of the dirt without touching the car, exactly what you need. And as martinr said, nothing more satisfying than pretending to spray your car white!

Martin. What a humorous and well written piece. May I say `well done`.

Can I ask you this:

In your second paragraph you mention `a citrus pre wash`. Does that mean `Auto Finesse Citrus Power`? If so, reading the instructions of that stuff it says not to leave it on the car too long. I'm always worried by such statements, so, can you tell me how long you leave it on before you jet it off?

Many thanks.

Mike.

An inch or just under of snow foam in the bottom of the bottle and filled to just over half way in the one litre bottle should be more than enough to foam your car twice.

This will depend on the pressure of the pressure washer, a full bottle will cover my car (or the TT) and leave about an inch in the bottle, I certainly could not get 2 cars out of ½ a bottle. (my pressure washer is 10 l/pim - 130bar)

I first used Valet Pro Ph Neutral SF, but it is not as good IMO as the Magifoam I now use, but either way neither of them will give you a touch less wash, it is simply a pre-wash.

Martin. What a humorous and well written piece. May I say `well done`.

Can I ask you this:

In your second paragraph you mention `a citrus pre wash`. Does that mean `Auto Finesse Citrus Power`? If so, reading the instructions of that stuff it says not to leave it on the car too long. I'm always worried by such statements, so, can you tell me how long you leave it on before you jet it off?

Many thanks.

Mike.

I use the Valet Pro Citus Pre Wash from Cleanyourcar.co.uk. Its a traffic film removal product, so you follow the directions on dilution and then apply to the car using a hand spray bottle. I usually just do below the door rubbing strips, rinsing off each side of the car as I do it, so max contact time 2-3mins. If your really worried then apply and wash off sooner to try it out, you'll see it work almost immediately so it won't be wasted. Good value product and comes in large 5 ltr bottles which given normal use dilution will last you ages.

This will depend on the pressure of the pressure washer, a full bottle will cover my car (or the TT) and leave about an inch in the bottle, I certainly could not get 2 cars out of ½ a bottle. (my pressure washer is 10 l/pim - 130bar)

I first used Valet Pro Ph Neutral SF, but it is not as good IMO as the Magifoam I now use, but either way neither of them will give you a touch less wash, it is simply a pre-wash.

Gismo. I currently use the Valet pro Ph neutral stuff because I was advised that it was safe to use with regard to polishes and waxes already on the car. I've just watched a video of the Magifoam stuff and I must say it does look much thicker and seems to stay on the car longer. It also says that it is `LSP safe` so do I assume it will not remove polishes and waxes...as long as I stick to the recommended strength of course?

That is exactly what I have found, so far the Magifoam has not stripped the wax, I use 1” of foam in the bottle topped up with warm water.

That is exactly what I have found, so far the Magifoam has not stripped the wax, I use 1” of foam in the bottle topped up with warm water.

Thank you.